Method and apparatus for working railroad ballast



Nov. 20, 1951 H. MGFA N 2,575,390

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WORKING RAILROAD BALLAST Filed Aug. 26., 1946 INVENTOR. JBHN H. McFnmJE/v ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES P T OFFICE METfibD FORWORmG RAILRGAD BALLAST v J ohn. H. McFadden, Maplewood, M;

' *Applieation nugustzs, 19i6,"seria1No. 693,096

"This invention relates toimprovements in methods and apparatus that are used -toapply ballast under the track on railroad rights ofway. More particularly, this-invention relates-to im proved methodsand apparatus that are usedto apply ballast under raised sections of traction railroad rights of way.

It is, therefore, an object of the presentinvention to provide improved methods and apparatus that aroused to applyballast under raised se'c tions'of railroad track. 7 r

' In raising and ballasting'railroadtrack or'in reballasting' railroadtrack, it is the almost uni-'- versaL ractice today to initially skeletoniz'e the tract: by removing the'o'ld ballast that isin contact with the ties, and then to ballast the "track by distributing new ballast along'the' track and forcin the new ballast under and between the ties. The skeletonizin'g operation isdesirable" because the 01d ballast-isoftenso fouled withdirt andclay that it will hold water and will permit that water to: act ori'the railroad bed; and ifthe old ballast is not removed before the fresh ballast is added, it may intermingle with the fresh ballast and detract from the utility of'the fresh ballast. The ballasti'ng operation includes distributing the new ballast alon'gthe trackby means-of ahopper" car, placing a jack under'one of the rails of the track, placing a-second jack under theother' raii at apoint opposite to the first jack; actuating the two jacks to lift the two rails of the track to a predetermined height above the level o'f the iormer'road bed, and then applying the: previ ousl-y distributed ballastto the ties; While the track is being raised; measurements are-madeby optical or other means" to make sure thatthe' track is raised to the correct height. 0nce-the correct track height has been obtained, the-crew ofmen use their shovels to apply the distributed ballast to the ties.

- The rails and 'ties of modern railway track are" so heavy that it is customary'to-jack up the't'rack' at distances no greater than one-half of the length of a rail; and by initially distributing'balla'st'along the track and then rai'singthe track at such short intervals, 2; series of sections of loose ballast are formed. This loose ballast these sections must be solidlyan'd uniformly ap-' plied under, and to thesides of, the ties-to prevent settling, sinking or tilting of the track when trafiic'isresumed. In almost all cases today, thelooseballast in each of the sections is finally applie'd'by large crews of men with their shovels: a time-consuming operation. The present inven' tion' obviates" these objections by providing" a wheeled devicethat can be moved-- along a -rail iaoiaims. (01 I04,2l)

' road' track tofacilitate the skeletonizing andballasting of that track. Itis therefore an object of the presentinvention toprovide a wheeled device that can bemovedalong a railroad track to facilitate the skeletonizing 'and bailasting of ing and ballastirig work oat-crews of men. 'O' iie method contemplates the use ofheavywork cars that'h-avetrack-raisingsleds or bars which are initially forced under the track and are intended to engage" the bottoms of theti'esand force-thetrack up from its original position.-- This method is objectionablefor several reasons. For example the sleds orbars will have inclinedfetcesthait extend partially above and partiall-ybelbW- the level of the bottoms- 0f the ties and" will press directly against the bottom edges of the ties and will =apply side thrusts to those ties-whichwill cause some of themto'sl-ide' alongthe r'ailsior' will cause the tiestci rotate relative to'the rails'. The rotation of tli'e ties. which is-knowri as *rol' ing, occurs because the tiesare initially'subje ed toupward holding forces frontthe spikes" While being" subjected to side thrustforces 'troirnthe sleds or bars; those forces creating resultant turning forces on the ti e's. The side thrustforces are so much greater than" the holding forces o i the spikesthat-the ties a re eventually-"hulk away'i rom'the spikes, and then the ties rotate; or "roll, freely along the rails-in re's'ponsetdthe continued sidethrust forces from the sieds or bars. Ihe sliding of the ties alongthe rails" is serious enough but the rolling of the ties is iii-f finitely more serious; The ordinary" railroad tie. is seven (7) inches high and nine (9) inc'hesfwid'ef and its diagonal is approximately eleven all) incheslong; Thus if a track rais'e'is basedona tie height of seven (7) inches andanumbeifof ties are rolled" by thesled orbar', and theyj wijii' be so rolled, the track raise. will befroni two (25- to four (4)- inches too high. Moreovertherails; will be supportedat spaced points: by the r'ol tiesand will not even be spiked to those ties; theties having, been pulled, away from thespik es as theties were rotated-0r rolled.- In addition the; leading edge of the sled or bar may-ram-dnto ties that extend a: few inches below the rest-of theties ;v and in such cases-will either splinteixthetie; or will haltthe operation of the sledior-bari .Not only is: the: operation of a. the: sledsv or bars objeel tionable ifromthe' standpoiritor the ties and the undesired variations in the Height oi cars which carry jacks or other lifting devices to bend the track upwardly while .ballasting devices carried by the cars either apply new ballast to or remove old ballast from the ties of the track.

This method is impractical for severalreasons but principally because the weight of the car. I securely pins down the portions of the track beneath the wheeled trucks of the car while the jacks or other lifting devices positively raise the section of track intermediate those portions of track which are underthetrucks of the can. To prevent permanent injury to the track, the height or the raise must be such that the splicebarsat the ends of the railsof the. track will not be bent beyond their elastic limit; but this requirement limits the user of such ears to track raises of trivial value since the span'of thewheeled trucks of the car is definitelylimited. In addition, these methods and apparatus are further objectionable because they musteither be used on a start-andstop basis whereby each section of track must be treated individually or some :form of track raising device must be provided that will provide continuous raisingof the track. l

The present invention obviates these objections by raising a section of track by means of jacks, tamping new ballast under the tie adjacent the jacks, jacking up and tamping additional sections cf track, and thenmoving along the track a lightweight wheeled device that carries a removable ballast-working grid which is held below and out of contact with the ties of the track. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a series of raised and; tamped ties and to move a ballast-working id under the ties of the track to give uniform application of ballast under h track- A .-L 1,. I

. In applying ballast under the ties and rails or a section of railroadtrack it is necessary that the track be not fcenter bound. bound track is one wherein theballastbetween the rails of the track is somewhat higher than;

the ballast beneaththe rails; and in a center boun track the ballast between the railscan act as a fulcrumand cause tilting or seesawing of the ties as the trains pass over the track. In such instances, the roadbedlwill be' unable to provide a smooth, even ride tor the trains passing over it. This is highly objectionable and. should be avoided. The present invention obviates this objection by providing a scraper bar on the ballastworking grid carried by the wheeled device, and this scraper bar provides a reduced amount of ballast immediately adjacent the centers of'the ties. This reduced amount of ballast keeps the track from becoming center bound, even though the rest' of the ballast is thoroughly tamped down by the passage of trains over the track. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a scraper plate on the ballast-working grid carried by the wheeled device. Other objects and advantages of the present invention should become apparent from an examination' of the drawing and accompanying de- A center of the wheeled device and the'depending ballastworking grid provided by. the present invention, and it shows that device and grid adjacent track which has had ballast distributed therealong, has been jacked up to the desired level, has had the ballast tamped under the jack ties, and has had the jacks removed,

- Fig. 2 is an end view showing the wheeled device and ballastworking grid of Fig. 1, and

' FigXB'isan'enIarged perspective view of one end of one of the cross bars of the ballast-working grid member of Fig.1 1.

7 Referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral l0 denotes the supporting body structure of a wheeleddeviee that is light in weight and can easily and quickly be placed on or removed from the rails of a railroad track, the numeral]; denotes longitudinally extending boards secured: to the body structure 10, and the numeral [4 denotes downwardly depending bearingsupports that are secured to the underside of the body structure ill and that enclose the axles It to; which the wheels [8 are secured. Attached to, the longitudinally extending boards I2 and ex- 7 tending transversely thereof are supports 20.

Permanently afiixed to the ends of the supports 20 are bolt-carrying sleeves 22 which carry reciprocable bolts 23. The bolts 23 have the outer ends thereof extending outwardly beyond the ends of the supports 20. Pivoted to the bolts 23 are downwardly depending spacing arms 24, and attached to the lower ends of the downwardly depending spacing arm 24: is a ballast-working grid. This grid includes sidebars 28 and bluntiaced cross bars 28 and 30. The ballast-working grid is secured to the downwardly dependingspacing arms 24 by pivots such as bolts 25.

Cross bars 28 and 30 differ principally in that a scraper bar 34 is attached to and carriedby the cross bar 30. The cross bars 28 and 3B are se-. cured to the sidebars .26 by interaction between the notches 21 in theends of the cross bars 28 and 30 and the openings 40 in the side-bars 26. The openings 40 in the sidebars 26 are longer than the cross bars 28 and 38 are wide, thus permitting free insertion of the cross bars into, said openings and also permitting free removal of. saidcross bars from said openings. The notches 21 at the ends of the cross bars Hand 30 are. dimensionedso they are wider than the. side bars 26 are thick, thuspermitting the portions of the side bars 26 adjacent the openings- 40 tofit into the notches 27. This interaction between thenotches 21 and the openings ii] of the side bars 26 securely holds the cross bars 28 and-3B in position relative to the side bars 25 to form a rigid and sturdy ballast-working grid. The side bars 26 are alsoprovided with openings 32 and 36 at the opposite ends thereof; and theseopenings are intended to receive a flexible cable 38, or other pullingmeans. The cross bar 30 should always be secured to the rear end of the ballast-working grid; and .whenever the direction of movement of the wheeled device is to be re- Asindicated m Fig." 1, the cross bars 28 and sowill be approximately two to three inches below dama e the lower surface oi all averagegslze-tles attacheda'iice between the cross bars 28 and tfl' and-the rest of-theties,that tie would obstruct'movement" of 'fthe ballast-working grid along 'thetrack-.-

However, such ties' are notto be-expected-- with-- any degree of--frequency*and=theywould have been removed and replaced duringthe skele tonizirig 'operation. "A chain 42 is provided thatextends from the u'pp'er left-hand bolt-23- to the lower right hand pivot-25; and this chain willliold the downwardly depending spacing "bars 24 atr'ight angles to the ballast-working;grim-thus preventing a shortening of the vertical-distance between the top of the rail and-the tops of the cros's'bars 28 and 38. In this'way, the'cross bars 28"and'30- are positivelyheldat a constant distance from the top ofthe-rail; thus they can provide smooth and even-application -of the balllast-to-the ties. a

The bolts 23 are reoiprocable in the sleeves 22- to-permit separation ofthe spacing arms 24' from the-wheeled device whenever the wheeled device must be removed from the track to-=permit pasfs-The cross bars 28land 30. will:normallv be sea cured to the side. bars 25of theballast-working grid, but where desiredlthey carr belremoved. This can be done by strikingthe sidebarsnzfiv and forcing themto. move relative tothe cross bars 28 and 39 untilthe notches,,2 l..oI=:-the cross bars 28. and 73.0, are clear of-the edges ofthe open:

ings, 40. Thereafter the.v side lbarslt: canbe. re: moved. This permits, withdrawal vloi the, cross.

bars 28 and 39. from the ballast, attire .c mple-iv t on o th a k ballast g operationc .Theopenings min the sidebars Ziioi he. bah s -w k g gr d are p eie ab s aced i s ch a wa that he nte s Qt he vari g eninssfld can be made to eels. r r ththe 9e terse? .25.9 th tr ck,- Wherethi is. dens tis ssi wc v t e bal ast-w rkin arid, $9 fillifilQSd bars 28 and 36 are directly under theties of the tTrackfand'whrethisT a arms. Mare rotated intoz horiaontal po trains can passov'er theftrackwithoi it thf ball'a'st-workingi'grid and without h d'r the trains. In the absence of'tl'iisfspaci as the traiiicpasses; along theftrack jn permit a bending oithe cross'bars '23, and 3,9.

thejcrlos's bars 23 nact, the s ifting.of fltheiiaig' ballast-working grid of the present inven; tion is well suited for use in skeletonizingf and inballasting trackf In the skeletonizing? operatiion the track is initially raised two (2) or three (3) inches with'jacks, the old ballast 5 2 ls tan 1ped under' the ties adjacent the jacks, the workmen ass l g the r e a k, n cetina it ig 't ssj that need to be replaced and also striking some ofj theties with heavy mallets to correct thespacjbridged between or clingingt'o-the ties, the work men-then force the cross= bars"28--and 3p linden therai'sed trackand secure them to the side bars 26-to form the ballast-working grid, and then the ballast-working grid is attached to thewheeled device and'to a pulling device and is moved along-the track. The edges or the cross bars-Q28 and 38 will forcetheir way throughthe relatively loose ballast 52 dislodgedfrom between the ties and through the solid ballast Blunderneaththe ties. 'I-n'doing sc the edgesoi the bars 28 and 36 will move the ballast 52, dislodged irom between the ties, into the voids created I by raising the ties, and will also'loosen up the thoroughly packed ballast fiz under the ties; consequently theedges-ofthe bars 28 and 3El -efiectthe removal-- ofmostot the ballast52 'from between the ties while effecting a general leveling of the-'old-bablast 52-. If theskeletonizing process is to be followed by a track raising operation, theskele-' tonizing process can; be stopped but a traole raisingoperation is not contemplated, the shelefto'nizin'g operation must include the step of shoveling out the loosenedand -leveledballast- 52- to permit application of the new ballast 54, While it is true-that hand-shoveling is time-con suming and expensive, it can be done much quicker afterthe passage of the ballast-working grid through the ballast 5'2- becausei that grid loosens the ballast 52 and obviates'the needtorusing pickaxes to attack the thoroughly packedand 'hard-to-get-at ballast 52 under the ties Thus, whether ornot the fskeletonizi-ng operation is followed by a trackraise, the skeletonizing operation is made easier-and less costlyby use-of the present invention.

Upon the conclusion ofthe skeletoniz'ing-" operation, the track mustbe newly ballasted;,"andthat is done as follows: A- hopper car isdrawn along the track and is caused 'todischarge through its hoppersa predetermined depth of new ballast 54, jacks'are applied under each-of the two rails of the-track; the-rails are-raised to a. height equal to the;desired-height plusthe thickness of the cross bars 28, a portion otth'e new ballast 54- is tightly tampered under-a tie 56-ad-jacentthe jacks, the jacks are: removed and are-used to raise successive sections of the trackat intervals approximately'equal to; one halfthe length of a rail, the wheeled device 'of' Fig; 1" isset on the track, the individual cross b-ars 28 and 3B are foroedthrough the loose ballast 54" underthe raised track in such a way that theyare in the same horizontal plane so the side-bars 26- can he slipped over-the ends ofcrossbars 28=and 30; the arms 24 are securedto the wheeled deviceby' means of the bolts23, the chain 42=is attached as shown-in Fig. 1-, the cable 38 is attached to' apullingdevice, and then the'grid and-the wheeled device are pulled alongrelative to thetrack. A's

- the side bars 26 and the wheeled device move forward, crossbars-28 and 30 tend to rem ainsta-"= tionarybecause they are embedded in the'looseballast 54. This bringsthe edgesot theopenings 45 into engagement withthenotches 2% offthe" cross bars 28- and; 3H and thereafter as the side barszs continue to move ahead, the cross bars 28: and 30 will be moved through-the ballast 54'. The ballast 54 that was dischargedby the'hop percar can be and preferablywill-be of uniform depth, and when the track is-raised to-the re quired height bythe jacks some of that ballast:- 54 will falldown into the voidsformerly occupied by the ties and rails However, most of teeth-- last 54 will remain in'a rather loose state'in the approximate position it assum'edwhen itfellfrom" thehopper can. asthe blunt faced cross bars 28 and 30 move relative to the tiesand the rails, they will not tend to part the ballast 54 and slip through it but instead will tend to force the ballast 54 to move with them In this way, ballast 54 will be carried from the space between the ties to fill the voids formed when the ties and rails were raised. Too much ballast 54 will not be moved by the grid since any excess ballast 54 will be,wiped on of the tops of the cross bars 28 and 35 by the bottoms of the ties. Thus the grid will supply whatever ballast is required to fill the voids under the raised tiesand rails, but will not deplete the amount of ballast 54 required under or between the ties; and will provide uniform application of the new ballast 54 to the sides and bottoms of the ties. When the cross bars 28 and 30 come to the previously tamped ballast 54 under the ties adjacent the jacks, which ties are known as jack ties, thecross bars 28 and 30 will out directly through that previously tamped ballast 54 and will continue on. Accordingly, once the wheeled device has been set up, and once the ballast 54 has been initially distributed along the track by the hopper car, the only limitation to the continuity of the ballasting operation is the desire of the engineer to halt the ballasting at any particular point or the fact that an unballasted bridge or culvert is reached. Thereafter, the side bars 26 of the ballast-working grid can be removed and the cross bars 28 and 38 withdrawn Jrom the ballast 54; or the ballasting operation can be repeated by applying additional ballast, additionally raising the track with jacks, and reversing the direction of movement of the wheeled device. By using the method and apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to provide track raises of from one (1) to thirteen (13) inches with one trip of the wheeled device, and to provide considerably higher raises by making more than one trip with the wheeled device.

The scraper bar 34 attached to the cross bar 30 provides a reduced amount of ballast between the rails. This keeps the track from becoming "center bound when traffic is resumed over the ballasted track and when that traific gradually tamps down the ballast under the ties. Thus the scraper bar 34 prevents rocking or seesawing of the tracks and also prevents breaking of the ties. As previously indicated, the scraper bar 34 should always be at the rear of the ballast-working grid; and whenever the direction of movement. of the grid is reversed the bar 30 should be moved to the opposite end of the grid. If this is not done, the bar or bars 23 that follow the bar 30 will tend to make the amount of ballast between the rails more uniform and will thus detract from the protection afforded by the action of scraper bar 34.

The ballast-working grid will meet considerable resistance from the ballast as it moves through that ballast, and a large force must be exerted to move the grid and the wheeled device. This force can be provided by a power-operated Windlass or winch set at some distance ahead of the wheeled device, and the Windlass or winch would be moved from time to time to keep ahead of the wheeled device. The grid will usually be connected to the windlass by having long cables 38 with their near ends held in openings 32 in side bars 26 and their far ends held in openings in a cross bar, not shown, that will lie atop the rails at a point considerably ahead of the grid, and by a cable extending from the cross bar to the drum of the Windlass. long cables will droop down from the side bars and rest upon the sides of the right of way; the

The rear ends of the far ends of those cables rising up tothe level of the tops of the rails.

In the drawing the ballast-working grid shown with four cross bars 28 and one cross bar 30, making a total of nve cross bars. It will be obvious that more or fewer cross bars can be used but the use of from one (1) to five (5) cross;

bars enables the grid to provide uniform distribution of the ba ast. Where only one cross bar is used, that bar should have the configura tion of cross bar 30 to enable the grid to keep the track from becoming "center boundfi It will also be obvious that the ballast-working grid can be in one piece, as by welding the side bars to the cross bars or by machining or cutting slots or other openings in a hat plate.

The ties shown in the orawingdo nob-h length that corresponds to the distance between,

the inner races of the rails, since the inner faces;

of standard gauge rails are approximately four; feet and eight and one half inches apart and; the ties for those rails are ordinarily eight feet long or longer. For the purposes or theorawing,

shorter ties were shown but it will be understood that the cross bars 28 and 30 will be approxi-; mately one foot longer than the longest ties used,

on the track with which the present invention, is to be used.

Whereas a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in the drawing and accompanying description, it isobvious;

to those skilled in the art that various changes can be made in the form of the invention without afiecting the scope thereof. 7 1

What I claim is: 1. Ballast-working apparatus for use on railroad track wherein said track has had ballast dis-- tributed therealong, wherein said track has been. jacked upto the desired level, and wherein the ballast under the jack ties has been tamped, such apparatus comprising a ballast-working grid which has a plurality of spaced ballast-working.

surfaces that are adapted to extend transversely of said railroad track and to be positioned below the ties of said track, a wheeled device that is adapted to roll along said track, and spacing elements which extend between said grid and said wheeled device to normally maintain said grid in vertically spaced relation below said wheeled device, said spacing elements being dimensioned to maintain said grid below and wholly out of contact with the ties of said track whenever said grid, said wheeled device and said spacing elements are assembled together and whenever said wheeled device is on said track. I v I 2. Ballast-working apparatus for use on railroad track wherein said track has had ballast dis-- tributed therealong, wherein said track has been elements which extend between said grid and said,

wheeled'device to normally maintain said grid invertically spaced relation below said wheeled device, said spacing elements being dimensioned to maintain said grid below and wholly out of contact with the ties of said track whenever said. grid, said wheeled device and said spacing elements are assembled together and whenever said wheeled device is on said track, said spacing 819:

Erments being separable from :said wheeled :device :or .said grid whereby said. wheeled devicecan :be :imovedindependently of said :grid to clearsaid rtrackfor passing trains. 1

: at Baliast-working. apparatus for "use ion railroad'track wherein said track has had ballast distrihuted therea'long, wherein said track has been 'jacked. up .to "the desiredlevel, and wherein the ballast under'the jackties :hasibeen tamped, such apparatus comprising a grid which has .a ballastworking surface thatis adapted to extend transversely of said railroad track, a supportingdevice that is adapted to move along said track'and at a constant distance below said track and below and out of engagement with-the ties thereof as id supporting device is moved relative to said track. f-4. Ballast-working apparatus for useon ranroad track wherein said track has had ballast distributed therealong, wherein said trackhas been jacked 'up to the desired level, and wherein the ballastunder the'j-ack tiesl'ias been ta'mped, such apparatus com-prisinga grid which has a ballastworkingsurface that isadapted to extend transversely of said railroadtrack, a supporting deviceth-atis adapted tomove along said track, and spacers that extend between and normally hold said grid and said supporting device in vertically spaced relation, said spacers and said supporting device being dimensioned to maintain said grid at aconstant distance belowsaid track and below and out of engagement with the ties thereof as said supporting, device is .moved relative to said track, said spacers being separable from said grid or said supporting device to permit relative-movement between said grid and said supporting de vice to clearsaid track for passing trains.

5. Ballast working apparatus for use on railroad track'wherein'sai'd track has had ballast distributed therealong, wherein said track has been jacked up to the desired level, and wherein the ballast under the jack ties has been tamped, such apparatus comprising a grid which has a ballastworking surface that is adapted to extend transversely of said railroad track, a supporting device that is adapted to move along said track, outwardly projecting members secured to and carried by said supporting device, spacing members that are rotatably connected. to said grid and are removably secured to said outwardly projecting members, the rotatable connection between said spacing members and said grid permitting said spacing members, upon their disengagement from said outwardly projecting members, to be rotated toward said track and out of the path of those portions of passing trains which project outwardly beyond the rails and ties of the track, said spacing members and said supporting device being dimensioned to maintain said grid at a constant distance below said track and below and out of engagement with the ties thereof whenever said supporting device is on the track and said spacing members extend upwardly at a predetermined angle toward said outwardly projecting members, and means to normally maintain said spacing members at said predetermined angle.

6. Ballast-working apparatus for use on railroad track wherein said track has had ballast distributed therealong, wherein said track has been jacked up to the desired level, and wherein the ballast under the jack ties has been tamped, such apparatus comprising agrid'whichhas a plurality of bars that are adapted to extendrtransverseiy Eof said track and to he positionedbelow'. the ties of said track, :asupporting device thatis adapted --having blunt faces and being adaptedto: push ballast withsaidfa'ces; r i .7

7. Ballast-working apparatus for use 011 I211- road :track wherein Esaid'track has had ballastidis- *tributed' therealong, wherein 'said track has :been lacked up to the desired levelpand wherein'ithe ballast under the jack ties has been tamped such "apparatuscomprising a grid which has substan'- tially parallel side members'and a plurality or transversely extending "ballast-working members which can be inserted under "the ties of railroad jtracks, said side members having spaced aslots therein that are dimensioned to receive and carry said transversely extending members, said transgversely' extending members having notched ends that can be reniovably held in said slots insaid side members, a supporting device that can move along said track, and spacing members extending between "said supporting device and said grid to normally maintain said supporting device and said grid in spaced 'relation,' said spacing members and said supporting device beingfidimen' sioned' to maintain sa-ld'transverselyextending members of said'grid ata constant distancebelo i said track andbelow and out-of engagementwftli he tiesthereof as saidsupportingdevice'is nioved alongisaid track. '1

-8. Ballast-working apparatus for use on'-rail-'- road tracks wherein said track has had 'ballast distributed therealong, wherein said track has been jacked up to the desired level, and wherein the ballast under the jackjties has been tamped, such apparatus comprising a grid which'has substantially parallel side members and a plurality of transversely extending ballast-working members which can be inserted under-the ties of railroad tracks, said side members having spaced slots therein that are dimensioned to receive and carry said transversely extending members, said transversely extending members having notched ends that can be removably held in said slots in said side members, a supporting device that can move along said track, spacing members extending between said supporting device and said grid to normally maintain said supporting device and said grid in spaced relation, said spacing members and said supporting device being dimen- Cal sioned to maintain said transversely extending members of said grid at a constant distance below said track and below and out of engagement with the ties thereof whenever said spacing mem-}- bers extend upwardly at a predetermined angle toward said supporting device, and means to, normally maintain said spacing members at said predetermined angle.

9. The method of working ballast in and around the ties of a railroad track that has had ballast distributed therealong that comprises jacking up a portion of said track to the desired level with jacks, thereby permitting said ballast to fall beneath said raised portion of said track, tamping ballast under the jack ties, removing the jacks, and moving a ballast-working grid through said fasvaa co ballast in a directionparallel to said raised portion of said track. '10. The method of working ballast in and around the ties of a railroad track that has had ballast distributed therealong that comprises jacking up a portion of said track to the desired level with jacks, thereby permitting said ballast 'to'iall beneath said raised portion of said track,

'tainping ballast under the jack ties, removing the Jacks, and moving a ballast-working grid through said ballast in a direction parallel to :said raised portion of said track, while maintaining said grid below and wholly out of. engagement with the ties of said track. "11". The method or working ballast in and around the ties'of a railroad track during a track raise which comprises distributing ballast along said track, raising a portion of said track a distance equal to the height of the raise plus the 'thick'ness'of a ballast-working surface on a grid, tamping ballast under the jack ties, inserting 'said'ballast-working surface of said grid inthe loose ballast under said jacked up portion of said track, removing said jacks, and moving said grid through said loose ballast and said :tamped ballast in a direction parallel to said track while maintaining said grid at a predetermined distance below the top of said'track and below and wholly out of engagement with the ties of said track.

12. Ballast-working apparatus foruse on railroad track wherein said track has had ballast distributed therealong, wherein said track has been jacked up to the desired level; and wherein the ballast under the jack ties has been tamped, such'apparatus comprising a grid which has a plurality of spaced bar members that are adapted to extend transversely of said railroad track and to be positioned below the ties of said track, one oil-said bars having a projection thereon that extendsbeyond the restof said bars to provide a reduced amount of ballast in that-portion of the ballast between the vertical planes defined by the rails of said track, a supporting device that is adapted to move along said track, and spacers 12 that extend between and normally hold said'grid and said supporting device in vertically spaced relation, said spacers and said'supporting device being dimensioned to maintain said grid at" a constant distance below said track andbelow and out of engagement with the ties thereotas said supporting device is moved relative to said track.

13. Ballast-working apparatus for use on railroad track wherein said track has had ballastdistributed therealong, wherein said track has been jacked up to the desired level, and wherein the ballast under the jack ties'has been tamped, such apparatus comprising a grid which has a ballast-working surface that is adapted to ex tend transversely of said railroad track, a supporting device that is adapted to move along said track, and spacers that extend between and normally hold said grid and said supporting device in vertically spaced relation, said spacers and said supporting device being dimensioned to maintain said grid at a constant distance below-said track and below and out of engagement with the ties thereof as said supporting device is moved relative to said track, said ballast-working surface having a greatervertical thickness between the two vertical planes defined by the rails of said track than it has adjacent said planes, whereby a reduced amount of ballast will be provided in that portion of the ballast between said planes, said ballast-working surface being adjacent the rear of Saidgrid. a

- JOHN H. McFADDEN.

REFERENCESQCITED The following referencesare of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED s'ra'ras PATENTS Date Walbridge Oct. 10, 1933 

